PCMag Analysts: The Best Tech Products We Bought in 2012

What tech do the analysts who work inside PCMag Labs actually use in their real lives? Find out which gadgets and services they were willing to spend real money on this year.

Inside PCMag's offices, we test thousands of products and technology services every year. We write about them. We talk about them. And we swap them around a lot. It's not uncommon for someone to saunter across the room with a mixed expression of curiosity and awe, and ask to borrow a piece of equipment for the day, "just to check it out."

Rest assured, all this knowledge and exposure to cutting-edge consumer echnologies greatly influences how we spend our real, hard-earned dollars.

So I asked my colleagues, the analysts, editors, and other contributors to PCMag: "What technology product or service did you actually buy this year?"

The rules were to name something they bought (no freebies allowed) since the start of 2012. They did not have to stick to products within their area of specialization, although many did. The camera analyst bought a camera. I, as a software analyst, bought an operating system. But the security expert bought a unique little device for his entertainment center, and the consumer electronics managing editor bought an emergency-preparedness gadget. Some answers are a bit quirky, but they're all purchases made by highly informed shoppers.

While I tried to minimize the number of duplicate answers, two products were mentioned so frequently that I left in two repeated answers. The fact that multiple PCMag staff members ran out and bought these products speaks for itself.

In alphabetical order by surname, here are our personal favorite technology products and services that we caught onto this year, and what we love about them.

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Jill Duffy, Software Analyst

Jill Duffy, Software Analyst

What did you buy? Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion%displayPrice% at %seller%
In my personal experience with software, I have been notoriously slow to upgrade. If something works and gets the job done efficiently enough, there's no need for me to shell out hundreds of dollars for an upgrade. Then came Mountain Lion, an improved operating system for my Mac that only cost 20 bucks. At work, I experimented with Mountain Lion when it was in beta and thought the included iMessages app alone might be worth $19.99. In the past, the selling point for operating systems seemed to be support current software and improved performance, but nowadays it's as much about bundled apps, specialty features, and, to be fair, bells and whistles. I like many of the bells and whistles, though, and I like that they cost less than two movie tickets. OS upgrades are much better deals for consumers than they used to be, enough so that I may have turned a new leaf on my anti-upgrade philosophy.